In Canada, there is a pressing need for Clinician-Scientists with knowledge and skill in the field of addiction medicine to lead development and implementation of evidence-based prevention and treatment modalities for substance use disorders. In response, the interdisciplinary International Collaborative Addiction Medicine Research Fellowship was created in 2013 to develop the skills required for a career in addiction research. The Fellowship is a US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded research training fellowship offered in partnership with the BC Centre on Substance Use, St. Paul’s Hospital, and the University of British Columbia.

OVERVIEW & ELIGIBILITY

The International Collaborative Addiction Medicine Research Fellowship trains Clinician-Scientists to develop the skills required for careers in addiction research. The program runs from July 1 to June 30 (one year).

Fellowship Overview

The Fellowship provides $50,000 in funding for interdisciplinary health care providers who are involved in the care of patients with drug and/or alcohol use disorders.

Eligibility
The International Collaborative Addiction Medicine Research Fellowship accepts applications from interdisciplinary health care providers including physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and social workers who are involved in the care of patients with drug and/or alcohol use disorders.

We are committed to fostering an environment of diversity, equity and inclusion within our addiction research fellowship program, and applications are open to all individuals regard¬less of race, gender, ethnicity, disability, culture, or socioeconomic background. Please contact Elizabeth Yue (elizabeth.yue@bccsu.ubc.ca) for further information regarding our diversity initiatives.

Fellowship Curriculum
Upon admission into the Program, Fellows meet with Faculty Mentors to undertake planning in advance of the Research Fellowship commencing in July.

The overall structure of the half-day curriculum involves: addiction research immersion training, longitudinal research methods, scholarly activity, and career development.

ADDICTION RESEARCH IMMERSION TRAINING

VIDUS is one of the world’s longest and most active studies of over 1,500 adults who use intravenous drugs. VIDUS has made a number of important contributions to the field of addiction research, including being the basis for the evaluation of North America’s first medically supervised safer injecting facility.

The ACCESS study follows a prospective cohort of HIV-positive people who use drugs (PWUD) to determine how social, economic, physical, policy, and individual factors impact the health and well-being of HIV-positive PWUD.

ARYS is one of the few studies globally to prospectively follow more than 800 street-involved, high-risk, drug-using youth to examine factors associated with initiation into drug use and a range of other related topics, from prescription opioid use to homelessness to experiences in foster care.

Detailed training opportunities are available in an array of innovative ethnographic, epidemiological, spatial, and qualitative research initiatives, including Geographic Information Systems and qualitative mapping.

We have a robust addiction clinical trials environment through the BC Centre on Substance Use and the BC node of the Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Misuse. The Centre is also a participating site of the Western States Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network. Our site provides a rich environment for learning about addiction medicine clinical trials through several interventional and randomized control trials that explore pharmacological approaches to substance use treatment.

With prior approval, Fellows may choose to substitute any one of the above research training experiences with an addiction research education experience with our collaborating US partners at Boston University or at the University of California San Diego.

APPLY

Application Timeline for the 2019-2020 International Collaborative Addiction Medicine Research Fellowship:

October 31, 2018: Application process opens

December 3, 2018: Application deadline

December 3, 2018 to December 7, 2018: Interview period

February 1, 2019: Acceptance notification

February 11, 2019: Deadline for acceptance

July 2, 2019: Fellowship begins

Application Details

Interested candidates must submit a copy of the following documentation:

Two letters of reference

A one-page letter of intent

A curriculum vitae

Research survey and informed consent form

This research training fellowship was funded by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse which asked us to evaluate how research training impacts upon research productivity of addiction medicine physicians. At time of application, you are being asked to complete this online survey and agree to taking part in the study by clicking on the “Agree” button at the start of the survey. Thank you for considering completing this online survey and consent form with your application. While we would appreciate your participation in this research, it will have no bearing on your application for admittance into the program.

Please send an electronic copy of all application materials to the Fellowship Program Assistant, Raman Jawanda: raman.jawanda@bccsu.ubc.ca

Interviews
Interviews may be conducted with top candidates from each discipline shortly after the application deadline. Interviews may be in person, on the phone, or via Skype.

General Inquiries
For further information about this fellowship program, please email Liz Yue, Addiction Fellowships Coordinator, at elizabeth.yue@bccsu.ubc.ca.

PROGRAM LEADERSHIP

CURRENT & PAST FELLOWS

View a list of current International Collaborative Addiction Medicine Research Fellows here.

Past International Collaborative Addiction Medicine Research Fellows are below.

2014-15

DR. KEITH AHAMAD

DR. LESLIE RAE LAPPALAINEN

DR. SEONAID NOLAN

DR. DEVIN TUCKER

2015-16

DR. ALEXANDER CAUDARELLA

DR. VERONIC CLAIR

DR. NITASHA PURI

DR. LAUNETTE RIEB

2016-17

DR. CHRISTOPHER (KIT) FAIRGRIEVE

DR. NADIA FAIRBAIRN

DR. DEREK CHANG

DR. EUGENIA SOCIAS

DR. SHARON VIPLER

2017-18

DR. RUPINDER BRAR

DR. SONIA HABIBIAN

DR. PRABH LAIL

DR. GERRIT PRINSLOO

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

The US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is part of the US National Institutes of Health. NIDA’s mission is to bring the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. To do this NIDA provides strategic support and conducts research across a broad range of disciplines, and ensures the rapid and effective dissemination and use of research results to significantly improve prevention and treatment and to inform policy. For more information about NIDA, please click here.

St. Paul’s Hospital at Providence Health Care is an acute care, academic, and research hospital located in downtown Vancouver. With over 500 acute care beds in use and home to many world-leading medical and surgical programs, the hospital serves both the local community and patients from across BC. Its downtown location brings many of Vancouver’s tourists and visitors to its doors. St. Paul’s also has a longstanding history of providing care to disadvantaged populations. For more information about St. Paul’s Hospital, please click here.

From its inception in 2007, the Division of AIDS at the University of British Columbia has worked collaboratively with the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (est. 1992) and the AIDS Research Program at St. Paul’s Hospital / UBC (est. 1988). Our divisional members are involved in various areas of research in the area of HIV treatment and prevention. The Division places considerable emphasis on treating and preventing HIV infection among intravenous drug users. For more information about the UBC Division of AIDS, please click here.

The BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) is a provincially networked resource with a mandate to develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based approaches to substance use and addiction. The BCCSU focuses on three strategic areas: research and evaluation, education and training, and clinical care guidance. With the support of the province of British Columbia, the BCCSU hosts the largest interdisciplinary addiction medicine training program in North America, building capacity in the healthcare system in BC to improve access to evidence-based care. Although physically located in Vancouver, the BCCSU is a provincially networked resource for researchers, educators, and care providers, as well as people who use substances, family advocates, support groups, and the recovery community. It is hosted at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Providence Health Care. For more information about the BCCSU, please click here.

The University of British Columbia (UBC), established in 1908, is one of Canada’s leading research universities, consistently ranked among the top 40 in the world. The university attracts 54,000 students from across Canada and 140 countries around the world to two major campuses. For more information about UBC, please click here.

Vancouver Coastal Health is a regional health authority providing direct and contracted health services including primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care; home and community care; mental health services; population and preventive health; and addictions services in part of Greater Vancouver and the Coast Garibaldi area. For more information, please click here.